Preview — The Second Life of Samuel Tyne
by Esi Edugyan

The Second Life of Samuel Tyne

Suspenseful and atmospheric, this extraordinary novel portrays both the hardship and grace in the life of a man struggling to realize his destiny.

When Samuel Tyne emigrated from the Gold Coast (now Ghana) in 1955, he was determined to accomplish great things. He excelled at Oxford and then came to Canada with the uncle who raised him, leaving the traditions and hard life oSuspenseful and atmospheric, this extraordinary novel portrays both the hardship and grace in the life of a man struggling to realize his destiny.

When Samuel Tyne emigrated from the Gold Coast (now Ghana) in 1955, he was determined to accomplish great things. He excelled at Oxford and then came to Canada with the uncle who raised him, leaving the traditions and hard life of his homeland behind. Here, in this nation of immigrants, Samuel would surely be free to follow his destined path to success.

That new beginning didn’t live up to Samuel’s expectations. As the novel opens fifteen years later, he is working as an economic forecaster for the government in Calgary. It’s a stiflingly bureaucratic, dead-end job, where petty managerial types and lifeless co-workers make Samuel’s days almost unbearable.

Everything changes for Samuel when he finds out that his Uncle Jacob has died. Samuel and his uncle had grown apart. They had not spoken for a number of years, though Jacob had raised Samuel and, in a way, sacrificed himself for Samuel’s future. Jacob’s death weighs heavily on Samuel, yet his reaction seems more about having “a singular chance to get all his sadness out” than about familial love. Samuel is jolted out of his sadness and his workaday world when he receives a call telling him he has inherited Jacob’s old mansion in the small town of Aster, Alberta. The town, originally settled by freed slaves from Oklahoma, sounds to Samuel like the perfect place to start a new life, one that would allow him to live up to his potential, and he decides to exchange the drudgery of the city for the simplicity of small-town existence. When Samuel leaves his office for good after yet another minor humiliation, we cheer his resolve and look forward to what the coming days will bring.

Samuel believes that he is setting on a path to fulfill his personal expectations, but we begin to see the signs of what one reviewer has called Samuel’s “pathological temerity.” He doesn’t tell his family what has happened: not that he’s inherited the house, or that he plans to move there or even that he’s quit his job. Instead, he spends his days tinkering in the shed, emerging at just the right time to make it seem like he’s coming home from work. The truth comes out only when one of his daughters discovers his secret. His deception points to a paralyzing inability to communicate with others and suggests that this new beginning may be as fruitless as the last.

Maud and the twins, Chloe and Yvette, resist the move to Aster, but are helpless in the face of Samuel’s conviction that this is the right thing to do. And when they arrive, their new home — a gloomy, worn-down remnant of days long past — doesn’t exactly fill them with hope. But the seeds of renewal have been sown, the move has been made and they hesitantly take up their new lives. At first, the Tynes seem to be settling in — they meet some of their neighbours, Samuel sets up his own electronics shop, Maud begins to fix up the house and the twins are curious enough to at least begin exploring their new home. However, the idealized Aster of Samuel’s imagination proves to be as false as his family’s veneer of acceptance, and a dark undercurrent of small-mindedness, racism and violence soon turns on the town’s newest residents. When mysterious fires begin to destroy local buildings, and the bizarre yet brilliant twins retreat into their own dark world, Samuel’s fabled second chance slips slowly out of his grasp.

The Second Life of Samuel Tyneis a harrowing and beautifully written work of fiction, one that shows us how fragile our dreams can be in the face of the relentless march of time. Esi Edugyan’s evocative writing and pitch-perfect ability to get into the minds of her characters confirm that this book heralds the arrival of a major new novelist....more

Community Reviews

i have figured out all the low ratings on this book. it is "sad." that seems to be the major complaint about this book. its sadness.

well. shrug.

i mean, yeah, this is a sad book. a very very sad book. and for those of you who like books in which an ambitious character gets everything they want and ends up happy as can be with their family and their reputation intact, this would definitely be a two-star book for you.

because the reality of the immigrant experience and the demands of family upon ai have figured out all the low ratings on this book. it is "sad." that seems to be the major complaint about this book. its sadness.

well. shrug.

i mean, yeah, this is a sad book. a very very sad book. and for those of you who like books in which an ambitious character gets everything they want and ends up happy as can be with their family and their reputation intact, this would definitely be a two-star book for you.

because the reality of the immigrant experience and the demands of family upon a man who is struggling with his guilt over having abandoned his country in order to pursue his dreams, and the racial tensions that rise up when an african man moves into a small tight-white-knit community when he ALSO has evil-twin daughters?

there isn't going to be a happy ending, here.

and FOR THE RECORD, this is not just my personal prejudice rearing up - these twins are bad bad baaaad.

and our saumel is a gloomy gus to begin with, even apart from the bad things that happen to him.

his take on marriage:

He admonished himself for not taking advantage of her good mood when he'd had the chance. But that was the nature of marriage, he thought solemnly, an argument that only ends with death.

on the emptiness of life:

...all of life's ambitions were mere diversions. Politicians sought refuge in conflicts, the immoral sought it in sex, and many men just worked until they dropped. You did everything to keep yourself from seeing the futility of it. But Samuel had joined that class of men who, having attained a major goal, suddenly see the vanity in wanting it.

on the freaking sunrise:

...he meditated on how pointless it was that sunrise was so beautiful when so few men saw it anyway.

this is the character we are dealing with - no matter what happens in his life, if these are his various outlooks, he isn't ever going to be happy, even if everything were to work out for him. spoiler alert: it will not!

another complaint i am seeing when reading the review of others are the characters - that they are shallowly written. and while i can understand where a criticism like this comes from, in this book, i would have to respectfully disagree. in samuel's case, i think it is a matter less of his being underwritten and more of his having been beaten down so much by his life there is nothing left. he is definitely someone to whom life happens,rather than a heroic man of action, but while he is few of words, his guilt and frustration jumps right off the page at you. this is a story of a man harassed at every turn, who ultimately retreats into a kind of stasis and emotional hidey-hole, who continues to make questionable decisions that haunt him to the bitter end.

my only complaint is the situation with the twins. early on, these were shades of the spooky and the supernatural, which never came to fruition. my stance is, if you are going to drop spooky hints, you have got to follow through, otherwise, it just leaves the reader wondering what the point of those scenes were. although i was glad to see that i am not the only one with a twin-fear:

When the pregnancy assailed them, Maud had already reached thirty-one, a distasteful age for a first child, both by Gold Coast and Western standards of the time. Her failure as a nanny also haunted her. So it devastated her when not one, but two babies arrived, and not even boys at that. Twins. Both Samuel and Maud were embarrassed to admit that not even an ocean could distance them from their superstitions. For twins were a kind of misfortune. Samuel's great uncles had been twins, and the advent of their birth had brought a maelstrom of controversy to the family. Primogeniture had been jeopardized - without knowing for certain who'd been born first, how could they name an heir? And twins, a freak occurrence, scared people. Only some awful wrongdoing could produce the same person twice. The mother's fidelity came into question; for no man on earth was so virile that he could do two at once. Only the prestige of the Tyne name saved their matriarch from suspicion. Samuel's ancestral experience was enough to put both him and Maud off.

you heard it here - twins are the result of some awful wrongdoing....more

I liked this book but not necessarily its pacing. It's quite a large novel by trying to drag out a story to the point where it just seemed dull and pointless. It's also a very depressing novel and though I love Canadian literature, it was weirdly dark and I don't think I would read it again.

Here we have a story or is it a tale? Is it fanciful or is it real? Books, all good books of any kind are both and many more. The characters are real to us and because the events are not happening to us they are fanciful, even if it is based on true happenings. Oh and if ever you are looking for why not to dress identical twins in indentical clothing it's buried in here. But it wasn't just the twins that lost and were looking for their identity it was Samuel and Maud Tyne. We go through life forHere we have a story or is it a tale? Is it fanciful or is it real? Books, all good books of any kind are both and many more. The characters are real to us and because the events are not happening to us they are fanciful, even if it is based on true happenings. Oh and if ever you are looking for why not to dress identical twins in indentical clothing it's buried in here. But it wasn't just the twins that lost and were looking for their identity it was Samuel and Maud Tyne. We go through life forming and creating our identity. Leaving home for a new land can heighten the need for an identity or to remold it to a certain way to find a place to call home. But coming to a new country often leaves the person with "culture shock". The different way of formulating a country, beliefs, traditions, mindsets can be a shock. Especially the new people you interact with seem to act and treat you as some kind of slow witted alien. Everyday they subtlety or not so subtlety remind you that you are not from this new country. Every person born in the country and assimilated themselves are naturally superior and unless you drop every little thing and become one of them by accent, clothes and beliefs you are from "over there". Which by and large many people see otherness as a threat. Most especially in small communities. Those are plagued with small minds. It doesn't matter that the founding of these communities were done by immigrants. It doesn't matter that everyone is from somewhere else, with differing accents, clothes, beliefs or skin pigmentations. It's the here and now that counts. Fit in by what ever means necessary or else. What is that "or else"? It's the verbal haranguing at work or the living hell in small communities. Malicious gossip, vandalism, petty crime against person and possession. For many readers they attribute books still to little pieces of moral lessons. If books were really like this we would be swamped with "How to" guides and nothing much else but Girls Own and Boys Own...we had those books, we still do and can be found in second hand book stores, libraries and small local museums. Go to those if you want a book that has a lesson to take at the end of it. Books are by and large telling a good yarn. Some are pure fantasy and some are full of situations and people you find in your life. The Second Life of Samuel Tyne takes a place in the realm of Emile Zola. Only with less death and destruction, however, it is called "realism". There are no heroes or heroines, no one to love and no one to hate. They simply are as they are. But they are interesting and you read about them and will want to know where they will go next or what will happen to them. Their bitter disappointments are intriguing and you know for them and for you life is not all happy dreams and sweet candy. I think I like this book a bit better than Half-Blood Blues....more

The story of Samuel Tyne and his family is painfully drawn out into a full length novel that should have remained a short story. Granted, I don’t even know if this novel started as a short story but I hope it did. A glaring lack of drama makes this book long winded and disappointing.

The characters between the covers of Edugyan’s book are deficient. They are deficient not in their ability’s or personalities in the story itself, but they are void of depth and substance. Edugy****SPOILER ALERT****

The story of Samuel Tyne and his family is painfully drawn out into a full length novel that should have remained a short story. Granted, I don’t even know if this novel started as a short story but I hope it did. A glaring lack of drama makes this book long winded and disappointing.

The characters between the covers of Edugyan’s book are deficient. They are deficient not in their ability’s or personalities in the story itself, but they are void of depth and substance. Edugyan swings from one end of the character development spectrum to the other. First, the author gives too much in the way of insight into the character’s minds and emotions. In the same breath you will be confused at the lack of explanation for a characters line or action. I suppose if I had to locate a specific problem with the characters, it would be this: none of them are likeable or engaging characters. Samuel is a sad bastard. His wife is jaded and tired. The twins manage to be frightening and eerie without maintaining any power or spookiness when they are not explicitly acting creepy.

Ama is nice in a sort of absent and endearing way, but plays no major role in the storyline until the very end. Indeed Ama is the only likable character in the story. From her awkwardness on her first meeting with Samuel to the end of Samuel’s empty life she remains a constant encouragement to him, as well as to the reader.

Samuel could be a compelling character if the reader was allowed in his head more. The story might even be better told from his perspective. I was not in the least inspired by the things Samuel cared about (his electronics shop) and was disgusted by his ineptitude as a parent and lover.

When I was not frustrated by these characters, I was skull-crushingly bored. Completely. Why did I finish the book? Because my father gave it to me for Christmas. Damn it.

In all fairness to the author, the book does have a moderately strong ending. Samuel’s stubborn character grew on me but not until the last 40 or 50 pages of the book. I cheered on Ama as she recovered from a life of, you guessed it, disappointments and embraces her solitude. Overall, a depressing and narrow read. Perhaps Edugyan’s “Half Blood Blues” has the depth she failed to show in this book, being as she won the Giller prize for it. ...more

The language was excellent, and the context was interesting. The writer is very gifted. The story line was unrelentingly sad, with only the slightest notes of hope in the end. It is a story of people--and relationships--falling apart. Given that I finished the book in one day, there must have been some part of me enjoying it, which is why I gave it three stars, despite my initial inclination to give it two. I was very curious to find out what was the real story with the twins and what further haThe language was excellent, and the context was interesting. The writer is very gifted. The story line was unrelentingly sad, with only the slightest notes of hope in the end. It is a story of people--and relationships--falling apart. Given that I finished the book in one day, there must have been some part of me enjoying it, which is why I gave it three stars, despite my initial inclination to give it two. I was very curious to find out what was the real story with the twins and what further havoc they would wreak. For a while, it felt a bit like a thriller. But just as the story reaches a climax, the writer dispenses summarily with the twins (who provided the only interesting tension in the book) and the rest of the characters simply spiral downward in the most mundane, hopeless ways. I was slightly intrigued by the ending, when one of the twins returns ever so briefly, and we are left to wonder which one. But I don't know if this unfinished thread was intentional so much as it was evidence of the writer losing interest in her own story....more

"The Second Life of Samuel Tyne" by Esi Edugyan stood on my bookshelf for a long time before I dared reading it. I liked Half Blood Blues so much, I feared it would not live up to it. I must have waited long enough then, because I loved this book. Very moody and quite different in style this book takes us from 1968 Calgary to Aster, a small community in Canada, where Samuel Tyne and his family try to make a new start. The newcomers are welcomed into the community as much as one would expect, wit"The Second Life of Samuel Tyne" by Esi Edugyan stood on my bookshelf for a long time before I dared reading it. I liked Half Blood Blues so much, I feared it would not live up to it. I must have waited long enough then, because I loved this book. Very moody and quite different in style this book takes us from 1968 Calgary to Aster, a small community in Canada, where Samuel Tyne and his family try to make a new start. The newcomers are welcomed into the community as much as one would expect, with some openness but also some hidden agendas.There is a dispute about land that Samuel has inherited from his uncle and other unpleasantness but a series of fires disturbs the community and at home Samuel's twin daughters start playing up.This is great writing, confident and atmospheric, exposing human nature with great observation. I enjoyed this very much....more

I was very much looking forward to reading this book.I loved Half Blood BluesIt seems to be one of those "love it" or "hate it" booksI struggled through this book, and when I got to Page 170 of 311 I stopped. I picked up the book to begin reading again and felt a sense of dread and blackness that I realized I could not go any further. When I say "blackness" I was quite serious. All I saw was black as I was reading the book.

this book has a neo-victorian quality to it, to a point where when edugyen ends with some snarky and satisfying commentary on 20th century albertan politics it was a comedic relief. [spoilers ahead]

a prairie gothic that lures the reader to flesh out each of its ghosts and to contend with the full breadth of bodily and spatial haunting, the novel dramatizes the enclosure felt against the Ghanian family in a formerly-Black prairie settlement. i found it hard to read at times, because the point ofthis book has a neo-victorian quality to it, to a point where when edugyen ends with some snarky and satisfying commentary on 20th century albertan politics it was a comedic relief. [spoilers ahead]

a prairie gothic that lures the reader to flesh out each of its ghosts and to contend with the full breadth of bodily and spatial haunting, the novel dramatizes the enclosure felt against the Ghanian family in a formerly-Black prairie settlement. i found it hard to read at times, because the point of view is mostly from the father of the family, and we basically only enter one of the twins' head until the very end, at which point she is so faint, a last vestige of the novel's ghostliness. staying basically entirely out of the twins' perspective was effective for creating the novel's haunting of conscience which also made it frustrating to read (especially if you think about how historically marginalized children are treated on this continent). it brings out the futility of heteropatriarchal family structures and offers small glimmers of communal interdependence as an alternative. in other words, a powerful critique that leaves a lot for readers to unpack.

it would be cool to read this work alongside prairie Indigenous literature, that history is basically not explored in this novel, but the marks and effects of settler colonialism are painted astutely......more

Even now, long after I've finished this book, I'm unsure on how I feel about it. It was a very slow moving book, with both the narrative and the development of the plot and characters - it felt almost "sleepy" in how everything was expressed and told to the reader. It's also a book which I liked it, but at the same time I didn't - and I'm still not exactly sure why.

The story itself had a lot to it. There's Samuel, who has tried to start a new life for himself, hoping things will turn out the wayEven now, long after I've finished this book, I'm unsure on how I feel about it. It was a very slow moving book, with both the narrative and the development of the plot and characters - it felt almost "sleepy" in how everything was expressed and told to the reader. It's also a book which I liked it, but at the same time I didn't - and I'm still not exactly sure why.

The story itself had a lot to it. There's Samuel, who has tried to start a new life for himself, hoping things will turn out the way he want. There's his family, who are for the most part, useless in everything they do. They were a miserable lot, under achievers, but their future took a unexpected twist part way through the book. There was also the issues surrounding Samuels twins, and their storyline. I was starting to guess at a few plot points, but it was an interesting twist in the book. Unfortunately, I felt it was an aspect of the book that was explored enough. I don't have a favourite character, nor do I have one I could say I could connect to. Although I don't think they were poorly written characters, but they lacked something to ground the reader.

The author did a good job at creating the atmosphere of the book. It's a downer, there's no arguing that one, but the author creates a very complex set of circumstances and manages to tie everything together fairly well. I enjoyed the ending of the book and it set up a bit of intrigue for the reader. Near the end, I did find I was beginning to lose interest, but the last few pages, the author managed to snatch my attention back - although I was left with a lot of questions, it was a very fitting ending. The writing was solid - especially considering this was her first published book. I think the writing was likely the main reason why I stuck with the book. The plot wasn't bad, but it was just .... missing something to keep me invested.

I find it increasingly discouraging that this harrowing tale received such low ratings and negative reviews. The recurring theme I receive from these comments are the gloomy and dark nature of the book, and the under-development of the characters.

I absolutely adored this book. It is so morose and depressive and intense. There is hardly a moment of happiness and hope in the story, though I will say that I like sad stories and poems.

But there was such a beauty accomplished by the*spoiler alert*

I find it increasingly discouraging that this harrowing tale received such low ratings and negative reviews. The recurring theme I receive from these comments are the gloomy and dark nature of the book, and the under-development of the characters.

I absolutely adored this book. It is so morose and depressive and intense. There is hardly a moment of happiness and hope in the story, though I will say that I like sad stories and poems.

But there was such a beauty accomplished by the author in this. The sadness of Samuel's life echoes the despair that so often plagues humanity-- the desperate trials of Samuel to make his life better are continually rebuffed, and up till his death, he teemed with sadness. He is perhaps my favourite character in the book (close to Maud) because of his restlessly morose spirit. I disagree with the other readers, I felt close and relatable to the characters.

I will say that the twins frightened me. I adored the ending as well. The compassion of Ama so closely speaks of the ability of love even in Samuel's own loss of hope. And when the last twin came back, the final message of the story was revealed.

Furthermore, I loved this book, and it's enchanting description and flow of words. I wish I knew which twin came back. But at the same time I don't....more

I am the opposite of a lot of people who have written reviews about this novel. I did NOT enjoy her more famous work Half Blood Blues; I felt the ending was abrupt and displaced. However, I loved this one. It was moody and ominous but the highlight was by far the twins. If there is a flaw, it's the title because it was their story more than anyone else's. They drove the plot and intrigue. I feel that most people wouldn't have cared so much one way or another about the other characters but the twI am the opposite of a lot of people who have written reviews about this novel. I did NOT enjoy her more famous work Half Blood Blues; I felt the ending was abrupt and displaced. However, I loved this one. It was moody and ominous but the highlight was by far the twins. If there is a flaw, it's the title because it was their story more than anyone else's. They drove the plot and intrigue. I feel that most people wouldn't have cared so much one way or another about the other characters but the twins more than made up for it. I almost wish there was a sequel that revealed all of the delicious details going on during their midnight romps (like the cat skeleton missing one paw- ummm wonder how that happened?). That said, it certainly doesn't deserve a rating of 2 because whatever you say about Edugyan's stories, she is a gifted writer and the enjoyment of reading gorgeous writing is enough to garner it a minimum of 3 stars....more

This book is dreary and bewildering. I enjoy Alice Hoffman and Neil Gaiman, and I was hoping this book would be something like that. It has an old mansion and spooky twins after all. But the characters make no sense to me. Why are they so blasé about what the twins do? The husband and wife hate each other and there is not one redeeming thing about their personalities. Also why is the word "moist" used so much ? And why is the grass always "chin high"? I read up to page 180, stopped. The next dayThis book is dreary and bewildering. I enjoy Alice Hoffman and Neil Gaiman, and I was hoping this book would be something like that. It has an old mansion and spooky twins after all. But the characters make no sense to me. Why are they so blasé about what the twins do? The husband and wife hate each other and there is not one redeeming thing about their personalities. Also why is the word "moist" used so much ? And why is the grass always "chin high"? I read up to page 180, stopped. The next day I just couldn't muster up enough interest to pick it up again. I read other reviews that said its a sad story, I don't mind a sad story, but this was bleak bleak bleak. I wanted to reach into the book and punch everyone in the face. ...more

After reading Half Blood Blues by the same author, I was confident that this novel would be good. And I was proved right. It is a simple story about a man who decides to start a new life with his family in a small town, in order to pursue his life long passion. Unfortunately things do not go as planned and a series of mishaps and conflicts set this family up for a tragic end.Esi Edugyan tells the story well using simple language and references, making it easy for the reader to relate to the charAfter reading Half Blood Blues by the same author, I was confident that this novel would be good. And I was proved right. It is a simple story about a man who decides to start a new life with his family in a small town, in order to pursue his life long passion. Unfortunately things do not go as planned and a series of mishaps and conflicts set this family up for a tragic end.Esi Edugyan tells the story well using simple language and references, making it easy for the reader to relate to the characters and their struggles. She also incorporates references to Ghanaian culture and some important facts about Canada's history of immigration, making this an educative and enjoyable read. It is definitely a different tone from Half-Blood Blues, but a great story nonetheless....more

I wanted to like this book. Her previous book, Half-BLOOD BLUES, was very good. This one attempts too much. Ir is a complicated due to the uniqueness of the setting.We meet a family that has been a part of immagration from Ghana to the Alberta Canada area.The author spends time giving background to the history of this and its effects on the life of Samuel and his family. There were too many story lines and they did not move the story.HE has twin daughters who seem to be brilliant but flawed . ThI wanted to like this book. Her previous book, Half-BLOOD BLUES, was very good. This one attempts too much. Ir is a complicated due to the uniqueness of the setting.We meet a family that has been a part of immagration from Ghana to the Alberta Canada area.The author spends time giving background to the history of this and its effects on the life of Samuel and his family. There were too many story lines and they did not move the story.HE has twin daughters who seem to be brilliant but flawed . They interact with themselves and no one else. His neighbor is trying to take his land away. Samuel seems to have no backbone. Learned a little about blacks in Canada and how they got there. ...more

I often fuss about about there not being enough narratives featuring non-stereotypical black people; yet, when I encounter a story like this one, I feel ambivalent because I still want the characters to feel heroic and colorful. I want the characters to have righteous comebacks for pushy people. I want the characters to be good parents. I don't want their children to be weird and unlikable. Esi Edugyan has painted a story of subdued personalities in a world both earthy and ethereal. It is beautiI often fuss about about there not being enough narratives featuring non-stereotypical black people; yet, when I encounter a story like this one, I feel ambivalent because I still want the characters to feel heroic and colorful. I want the characters to have righteous comebacks for pushy people. I want the characters to be good parents. I don't want their children to be weird and unlikable. Esi Edugyan has painted a story of subdued personalities in a world both earthy and ethereal. It is beautifully written and I couldn't put the book down for that reason....more

I looked forward to reading this, as I had enjoyed Half Blood Blues by the same author.

It was a disappointment. While the description and figurative language was compelling in parts, on the whole it was inconsistent. Sometimes it was insightful, but at other times it seemed over done. It was very emotionally dark and the storyline bordered on the absurd. I would not have finished it had it not been on my book club list. I will not recommend it.

This is a book that has a slow moving story, but it keeps you interested from beginning to end. You get a chance to bond with each character and care about what happens to them. Except the twins. They are an enigma, as they are meant to be. My only complaint is not knowing which of the twins we are with at the end of the book.

Very well-written. I liked that this was a story about immigrants that didn't only focus on their experiences as immigrants. The characters are complex and sad with strong desires and live in isolation yet in close proximity to one another.

I really liked the community members in Aster: they made life in small town Alberta very vivid.

"Maud grew humiliated,....and she despised herself for caring more about appearances than her children" page 21"They did that, these women; pretended to console you while gathering enough facts to humiliate you at a Sunday luncheon." page 82"-never, never, never accept the limits another wants to give you." page 197

I came close to quitting on this book. I just kept going because I didn't have another book handy. In the end I realized that it wasn't just okay, I actually didn't like it. The characters had no depth at all. They had so little dimension that when bad things happened, I felt no sympathy at all. Clearly not worth the time spent.

The writing is compelling, unusual, complex, and carried me along with the desperately unhappy characters, for whom life never gets better. And then it ends. Half-Blood Blues is also relentless in some ways, but it has some glimpses of humour and love of life. This earlier novel is a first novel, though an extremely accomplished one.

This was a very strange book, one that made me feel I was being dragged down into the intolerable lives most of the characters were leading. I found the behavior of the twins to be unbelievable and even more so the non reactions of the parents.

I am struggling to get through this book. The characters are flawed and illicit very little compassion from me. I wonder if the struggles they experience in small town Alberta are a true reflection of the times or the authors interpretation.

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.Edugyan writes so well that I found it disappointing that her novel is so unremittingly despondent. Every character that the reader might take an interest in is systematically ground into submission or taken prisoner by life - no mercy is shown.

Esi Edugyan has a Masters in Writing from Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars. Her work has appeared in several anthologies, including Best New American Voices 2003, ed. Joyce Carol Oates, and Revival: An Anthology of Black Canadian Writing (2006).

Her debut novel, The Second Life of Samuel Tyne, was published internationally. It was nominated for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, was a More Book Lust seEsi Edugyan has a Masters in Writing from Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars. Her work has appeared in several anthologies, including Best New American Voices 2003, ed. Joyce Carol Oates, and Revival: An Anthology of Black Canadian Writing (2006).

Her debut novel, The Second Life of Samuel Tyne, was published internationally. It was nominated for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, was a More Book Lust selection, and was chosen by the New York Public Library as one of 2004's Books to Remember.

Edugyan has held fellowships in the US, Scotland, Iceland, Germany, Hungary, Finland, Spain and Belgium. She has taught creative writing at both Johns Hopkins University and the University of Victoria, and has sat on many international panels, including the LesART Literary Festival in Esslingen, Germany, the Budapest Book Fair in Hungary, and Barnard College in New York City.

“She thought often of her own death, but without fear, loss having been her only belonging in this life. For years, acceptance had been her only means of survival. She knew that no matter how miserable or wretched life became, all she could do with her meek piece of time was sustain it. Decades of guilt, lost faith, the betrayal by those few people she'd let herself love - it was worth enduring these things, if only for the gift of a single, exalted moment. And such moments happened, even frequently, in the lives of people wise enough to see them.”
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